


Finding My Way Home

by AxlNami



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Attempted Kidnapping, Implied/Referenced Torture, Kidnapping, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post Mpreg, Reploid style babies, Returning Home, Separation, Slow Build, Torture, X and Zero don't know what they're doing, X needs a hug, Zero Needs A Hug, axl needs a hug, learning how to parent, mentioned sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:28:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29762406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AxlNami/pseuds/AxlNami
Summary: Two years ago, Axl was taken. For two years, X and Zero searched. The shapeshifter was taken for his abilities, but no one knew what he was fully capable of. Not even himself.He was taken alone, but he returned with a child. One that the hunters did not believe possible.
Relationships: Axl/X/Zero (Rockman)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 9





	1. Goal in sight

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea I've had floating in my head for a while. The finer details are lacking, but please enjoy anyway!

Abel City. Finally. Home was in sight. Nearer then it had been in months.

The cloak clad reploid sighed, warmth filling him as his eyes locked onto the tower in the distance for the first time in almost two years. His arms tightened around the bundle on his back as Maverick Hunter HQ stood like a beacon in the outskirts of Abel.  
  
Soon they’d be together again. He’d get to hold them again. They’d get to meet their new addition. They’d be a family again.  
  
Hopefully.  
  
“Mommy?” Came a young, tired voice from his back.  
  
“Yes sweetheart? Did you sleep well? I didn’t wake you, did I?” His gentle voice soothed, calm despite the excitement. Calm kept them safe. Panic made mistakes. He was not going back again. He was not letting them find his baby.  
  
“No, but you stopped walking. I thought you were tired. Is something wrong?”  
  
“No, nothing’s wrong. I just...I haven’t seen this place since before you were born.”  
  
“Is this home?”  
  
“Yes, little sharp shot. This is home.”  
  
“Will I get to meet papa and daddy soon?”  
  
A pause, tears being forcefully pushed down. “Yes. Yes, you will.”  
  
“And you’ll smile more right? You promised, ‘member?”  
  
“I won’t break it. Once we get back to your fathers, we’ll be a family. And I’ll definitely smile more.”  
  
“Remember. You pinky promised.” The child yawned.  
  
“I know. Go back to sleep, Red. We’ll be in the city by morning.”


	2. Happiness so close....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red gets to see Abel City. Axl remembers things from before. Red wants Axl to rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was super surprised and delighted to see how many people enjoyed this already. It gives me motivation to work on this more. Even though words are hard when the idea seems so simple. Hope you enjoy this one too!

Hand clutched in his mother’s, a small child gasped in awe at the busy street. He bounced on his toes and giggled happily before charging to a nearby shop window, his brunet ponytail trailing behind him. This was mommy’s home. So many things. So many places! Looking up at his auburn haired mother with bright grass green eyes, he moved back to hug his leg. Being picked up made him giggle again as his cheek was kissed, returning the gesture with one of his own to the cross scar adorning the young looking face.

“Can we look around? Please please please?”

Tired green eyes lit up in amusement. “Don’t you want to meet your fathers?”

Red gasped and frowned in thought. “Can I look on the way?”

His mother bit his lip before smiling. “Don’t stray too far. Remember where to go if we lose each other?”

“To Honor Park! To the statue of the three great hunters. X, my Papa, Zero, my Daddy, and Axl. That’s you, mommy!” The boy stated with heaps of enthusiasm.

Axl chuckled and tickled him, relishing in the joyous laughter he received. “That’s right. My smart boy, just like your Papa.” He was set down, his sweater and pants fixed, and a charm with ‘XZ’ on it secured around his neck. The child’s ponytail was fussed with, the end tapping the center of his back as the boy shook his head. “Mooooom, I’m fine. You don’t need to worry. You’re home. You can relax.”

The elder reploid sighed. “You know I won’t relax until-“

“Until you see Daddy and Papa again.” Red rubbed his arm nervously. “I know. I’m sorry. I know you miss them a lot. You would have been back by now if it wasn’t for me.”

The gunner frowned and hugged Red tight. “I would not trade you for the world. Your fathers will understand. You are the light that urged me home, sweetheart. Never think otherwise. I love you so much, my little sharp shot.”

“I love you too, mommy.”

* * *

_”_ _Hey, Axl? Hungry? We can stop for Chinese on the way back and interrupt our workaholic since X is still in his office.”_

What?

_“Come on, Axl. It’s our turn to surprise Zero with cake.”_

Are These...?

_“It’s still weird seeing our faces on statues.”_

_“X, I’m not a symbol of peace. I’m a weapon of destruction.”_

_“Are we really going to have to prove you wrong again?”_

My loves...

_“Make sure you don’t get stuck in the infirmary after your mission today. X and I have a surprise for you.”_

Please let me see them again.

_“Please. If anyone has seen Axl, let the Maverick hunters know. We miss him. Zero and I...we need him home.”_

I miss them. So much.

“-mmy? Mommy? Is this the place?” Jolted out of his memories, he looked at the boy holding his hand and looking up, nearly crying at the sight of such familiar statues.

“Yeah, baby. This is it.”

“Papa and Daddy look so cool. They look like they can beat anyone. Are they really as nice as you said?”

“If they’re not, I’ll kick them in the butt.”

“If they’re not nice, they’re bad?” The small one looked nervous and confused.

“No, for them it means they’ve lost their way.” The elder led his son into the park towards an empty bench. “Remember when you wandered away in the forest and I got so worried I yelled at you?”

“But you apologized! You were scared someone took me!” Red protested.

Axl knelt and hugged him. “I was. I was so terrified. And to X and Zero, they’ve lost me for two years. Two years is a long time of knowing someone is out there, but not knowing if they’re okay. It hurts the mind and the heart. And when those hurt, people make bad decisions. Will you help me make sure they don’t make bad decisions?”

Red pulled back with a grin. “We can help Papa and Daddy heal. We’ll make them feel better!”

“Right.”

“And I’m gonna start with making mommy feel better.” His grin made the gunner's chest ache. It was just like Zero's...

“Oh?”

“Papa made mommy flower crowns, remember? I’m gonna make one!” Axl blinked before smiling wide.

“You’re a sweetheart. But we can’t pull the flowers here. We’ll get in trouble.”

“But Not over there.” The boy pointed to where a group of kids were making flower crowns of their own.

“Alright. We’ll go over there.”

Red grinned. “And there’s benches for mommy to rest and watch me.”

“You don’t want me with you?”

“It's a surprise, mommy!”

“Alright alright. But stay in sight.”

“Always!” He giggled, tugging him forward.

Axl sat down and leaned back as Red rushed to shyly join the other kids. They really should continue to HQ. They were so close. But the smile on his son’s face as the kids greeted Red happily made the pause worth it. He could rest for a bit. Red could be a kid for once.

They were safe here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is much appreciated. Updates will come as soon as my worst critic calms down.


	3. ...only to be ripped away.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is not wise to let your guard down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for taking so long. I hated the names I was coming up with for the group that took Axl. Then kept overthinking until my Beta finally stopped me. Enjoy!

_”_ _Axl, the generator should be at the end of the hall. Shut it down with the sequence you hacked from their databank and then bring the documents you found back to base.” Pallete stated in his comms._

_The shifter sent a ping for affirmation instead of talking. Something didn’t feel right. He felt paranoid. A gut feeling that this was too easy. He also felt a little dizzy, like he spent too long in the sim room again. He sent a different ping frequency to alert Palette to be on guard. The paranoid feeling increased as the door opened and the room was quiet. No guards. No alarms. No cameras. What was going on?_

* * *

Red waved as more kids left for this ‘dinner’ thing, but stayed and continued the flower crown, having difficulty. He jolted when a blonde female reploid approached and knelt by him.

“Hello, little one. Do you need help?” She offered with a soft smile.

“No thank you. I wanna surprise mommy with a flower crown that I made all by myself. Like papa use to do for mommy before I was born.”

The blonde blinked before smiling. “That’s so wonderful of you. Your mom must be so lucky to have a sweet boy like you. I have a friend who use to make them too when he was courting another friend.” She picked a variety of flowers and started weaving them, Red watching and adjusting his own in fascination. “He would make them the same time every year. For another one of our friends. Their father figure died several years ago, and they get sad when the anniversary comes around. The crown didn’t make the pain go away, but it reminded our friend that they are still loved and that they had friends to lean on.”

“Your friend sounds so nice. Like mommy tells me daddy and papa are.”

“Daddy and Papa?” The blonde paused in confusion.

“Yeah! Mommy says I have two fathers! Mommy loves them both so much and they love mommy. But they got separated before I was born and mommy and I have been trying to get back to them. Mommy says they’re in this city so here we are!” His smile dropped right after that exclamation. “I hope we find them soon. Mommy’s getting really tired. But don’t tell mommy I told you. Mommy doesn’t know I know. Mommy tries so hard to make sure I'm okay and doesn't rest cause of it. Mommy only relies on the sun to feel better. And da blue energy things we find.”

Alia blinked rapidly at the slew of information about the mother. A reploid based on the rough description the boy gave. Was the boy adopted perhaps? Or a reploid crafted as a child for a more authentic child raising experience? And they were separated from the boy's fathers before he was born. That must have been difficult. But something she could help with!

She gave the boy a smile and set her finished crown in her lap. “Why don’t you go give that to your mom and bring her over? My name’s Alia. I’m a navigator for the maverick hunters. We have a database with the people living in the city. So I can help you find them much quicker so you can be reunited.”

“Really? You’re with the hunters?! Mommy and I were going to their base! I’ll go get him now!” Red bounced to his feet with a smile that caused a pang of nostalgia in the blonde, though she couldn't figure out why.

“Him?” Alia asked, confusion evident as the boy ran to a figure who seemed to be dozing on the bench. A figure with familiar colored hair pulled into a ponytail. “It...can’t be...”

* * *

_Red flags blared on his senses when his communication link suddenly cut and the electricity in the air increased. He rolled to the side as a blast came from the generator itself before it shattered, revealing a group of reploids pointing stun blasters at him. A quick scan showed there were at least 20. One of them approached the front with his hands behind his back._

_“Hello, S Class Maverick Hunter Axl, ex mercenary to the Maverick Group Red Alert, shape shifter of unknow origins who uses DNA data to assume other forms.” he spoke in chilling, possessive tone. “We are known simply as The Pact. We collect and recruit powerful items and people into our grasp and experiment with them to increase their potential. They join us to bolster our strength. And you, shape shifter, have been selected to join us next.”_

_Axl narrowed his eyes and lifted his guns. “No thanks, I have people waiting for me to get back to them.”_

_“Others waiting for you? Oh no. No one is waiting. You are not leaving. You belong with us now. And I will enjoy...converting you.” His smile sent chills down Axl’s spine. “It’s time to come home. By force if needed.” He promised, waving a hand in the hunter’s direction to initiate a barrage of stun shots._

_By the time X and Zero busted in, nineteen total bodies plus one arm littered the floor, but none of them were Axl. One reploid was barely functioning and laughed at them when questioned about Axl's whereabouts._

_“He is part of the Pact now. When you see him next, he will be one of us. And you will meet his pistols too. After all, our Master has many... **lovely** plans for him.” _

_His death was painful after he exposed said plans...and X didn’t stop Zero this time._

_He joined._

* * *

“Mommy! Lookie!” Axl jolted from his short nap, looking at the brightest smile his son had ever given. The boy climbed on a bench and set the messy crown on Axl’s head.

“A nice lady made one with me when the other kids left for dinner.”

“Nice Lady?” He repeated with a yawn.

“Yeah! She has yellow hair like you said daddy has! But it’s not as long. She said she’s with the hunters! She can help us find daddy and papa!” Climbing back down, he tugged the elder’s hand until he stood and followed.

“Blonde lady...with the hunters...” Green eyes widened and looked around, spying the now standing ‘nice lady’. His core sped up at the sight of familiar blues that held the same shock and growing happiness as him. “Alia...” He whispered in delighted disbelief, his legs quickening their pace after the tugging child.

The happiness quickly turned to horror as he felt a sickeningly familiar electric tension in the air. In practiced motion, he scooped up his son and rolled as the spot they just were exploded from a condensed stun blast.

Axl‘s rage flared in protective vengeance when Red screamed in fear. Trusting the child to hold onto him, he summoned his pistols and sniped the offender out of the tree, quickly followed by two more in the bushes and one from behind. The tension remained though and he knew there were more. How many was unknown.

Mentally cursing himself for letting his guard down, he bit back a whimper of fear as the group's leader, the one he had removed the arm of so long ago (maybe he should have tried harder to take both off), approached with unhurried steps. “The Pact will not be denied. **I** will not be denied.” His skin crawled at the voice and he hugged Red with one arm, using the other to point his pistol at the reploid. He heard a series of buster shots firing behind him, weaker then X’s but still powerful. Seemed Alia caught on quick like always.

“Just let me go home.” He hated the tremor in his voice, the nearly begging tone. He would not beg a maverick. They were so close to them. So close to seeing X and Zero.

“Your home is with us. You were selected. You can not deny us.” The man snarled.

“I can, I will, and I have.” The reploid pulled out a stun rod at the gunner's retort, making Axl flinch. He remembered one too many times of it making contact with his neck before he escaped.

“Come quietly and without resistance, and the child can go back to his family without being harmed. That is my one and only offer, shape shifter.”

The grip around Axl's waist tighten as said child tried to quell his sobs of terror, making Axl clench his jaw in frustration. The hunter knew he didn’t have the energy to fight long term, not against these guys. Any unnecessary subsystems had long been shut off to conserve energy, sunlight and random energy cans his only sustenance. Any more substantial nourishment went to Red, determined to let the boy grow without suffering.

Red meant everything to him. Red deserved to meet his fathers. Red deserved to grow up. Red deserved to live.

Kneeling with his pistol still trained on the enemy, Axl kissed brunet hair, the hidden strands of gold flickering in the flashes of battle. Upturned concrete landed around them from Alia’s battle with other Pact members, shaking the ground and scaring Red more. “Sweetheart, I need you to take my pistol.” He whispered.

“Mommy?” Glassy greens looked up.

“Mommy needs to scare this bad man away.”

“But I’m a libity. You can’t move fast with me.” The boy realized with a hiccup and more tears, making Axl's chest clench. His baby was so smart for only being a year and a half active.

“I won’t let them take you. Promise. Take my pistol and then I’m going to roll you under the concrete beside us. If someone comes to you that’s not me, your fathers or the nice lady...”

“Pop the can.” Red sniffled, trying to put on a brave face for his mother.

“Smart Boy. Ready, sharp shot?”

“Promise you’ll win?”

He grit his teeth as the man moved the stun rod into an attack position. “I grow impatient, shape shifter. Come home, now!”

“Go Red!” He hissed and turned, feeling the boy curl as he rolled him under a set of secured slabs of concrete. They wouldn’t fall, the hole was perfect to protect him until X and Zero got there...

“Do I need to take both arms this time to prove my point?!” he shouted, charging a shot. “I am a Maverick Hunter. I protect the innocent. I will never join you!” he declared, bracing himself as he fired a hail of bullets after the charge shot at the guy.

He sluggishly dodged the stun rod of another reploid, years of combat experience his savior as a few more joined their leader in his capture. One got a bullet to the stomach. Another got pistol whipped in the neck. Rage grew as he heard 'Bring me the boy!” from their leader.

Systems flared into overdrive as a snarl rumbled out of him. His protective instincts for his child overriding all other thoughts as he beheaded anyone who went near Red. Rage fueled him, but also blinded him as a chunk of concrete slammed into his side and sent him sprawling on the ground in front of Red's hiding spot.

The leader stormed over as Axl struggled to get up, red flags blacking out one eye as warnings of the critical status of his energy levels and his failing motor function popped up in rapid succession.

“You should have given in, shape shifter. I am done playing nice with you.” he growled, raising the stun rod in a way too familiar motion. Axl watched from the corner of his still seeing eye, his body filled with dread as he watched it fall. His only thought as it connected with his neck, making him scream from the pain and overload, was that they didn't have time to get Red. Other hunters, including X and Zero, would be here soon, so the boy would be safe from The Pact.

Even if Axl himself wasn’t here when they did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is a powerful thing.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is much appreciated! Updates might be slow as I am my own worst critic.


End file.
